Research & Insights

“Progress belongs to the Askers; the smarter the question, the lesser the guessing.”― Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel

Asking smart and tough questions until we get answers― that work is what we do. We know that diversity, inclusion, leadership, unconscious bias, cognitive differences, multiple intelligences, emotional intelligence, and other such human dynamics are complex and constantly changing. We apply the Nextions Next Question–Next Connection–Next Action model to design interdisciplinary studies to break down the complexities so that we can help you think smarter and lead better in your workplace.

In a Washington Post online piece in August, a columnist wrote: “You can understand if President Obama would rather talk about the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq, where he has scored some victories, than talk about the unholy mess in Ferguson, Mo.”

As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King, the world often turns to the iconic and inspiring words of Dr. Kinds “I Have A Dream” speech. Yes, this historical speech delivered to hundreds of thousands of people at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, was a game-changing call to action for a nation in crisis. For me, the lesser-known speech that he delivered to a small crowd at Western Michigan University just a few months later on December 16, 1963, holds the words that most profoundly impact how leaders need to think and lead today.

Is history the same thing as tradition? Is tradition always derived from history? These questions, while somewhat philosophical in nature, raise important questions about how we gather, connect and celebrate holidays in today’s workplaces.

Once we recognize that unconscious biases creep into our recruiting and hiring practices without our knowledge, we can tweak our practices with simple changes that can reduce the impact of bias on recruiting and hiring decisions.

Given our finding in a previous study that supervising lawyers are more likely than not to perceive African American lawyers as having subpar writing skills in comparison to their Caucasian counterparts, we asked if confirmation bias unconsciously causes supervising lawyers to more negatively evaluate legal writing by an African American lawyer.

The primary aim of our study was to uncover the reasons for the decline in interest, participation and enthusiasm while also developing suggestions for programming that will reinvigorate participation in celebrations in a way that enhances D&I efforts across the organization.

The story of women of color in the legal profession is multi-layered and deeply rooted in the broader societal issues related to racial, ethnic, and gender equality that have existed in the United States since this country’s inception.

How has the tragic death of a black teenager in Sanford, Florida become symbolized by a hoodie – a sweatshirt with a hood that is a wardrobe staple for every high school and college student in America?

Moneyball is one of those rare movies that is about baseball but has nothing to do with baseball. It has to do with thinking differently, challenging the status quo, and understanding that the collective sum of the parts always (seriously, always!) equal more than the simple addition of the parts, even if some of the parts are amazing.

Are our identities truly that transient? Yes and no. Each of our identity characteristics is a critical component of who we see ourselves to be; however, different characteristics become activated in different contexts either as an outgroup identity or as an in-group identity.

Think Smarter. Lead Better.

To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.

Tony Robbins

When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.

Charles Evan Hughes

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Honest difference of views and honest debate are not disunity. They are the vital process of policy among free men.

Herbert Hoover

There never were in the world two opinions alike, no more than two hairs or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity.

Michel de Montaigne

One must even beware of too much certainty that the answer to life's problems can only be found in one way and that all must agree to search for light in the same way and cannot find it in any other way.

Eleanor Roosevelt

It is not that I'm so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.

Albert Einstein

Diversity and independence are important because the best collective decisions are the product of disagreement and contest, not consensus or compromise.

James Surowiecki

Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.

Malcolm Forbes

Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.

Isaac Asimov

Diversity creates dimension in the world.

Elizabeth Ann Lawless

Differences challenge assumptions.

Anne Wilson Schaef

Wide differences of opinion in matters of religious, political, and social belief must exist if conscience and intellect alike are not to be stunted, if there is to be room for healthy growth.

Theodore Roosevelt

In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction.

Audre Lorde

Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.

Stephen R. Covey

I not only use all the brains that I have, but all I can borrow.

Woodrow Wilson

Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.

Walter Lippmann

Peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of differences.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs.

Leo Tolstoy

Controversial' as we all know, is often a euphemism for 'interesting and intelligent.

Kevin Smith

Honest difference of views and honest debate are not disunity.They are the vital process of policy among free men.

Herbert Hoover

Wit lies in recognizing the resemblance among things which differ and the difference between things which are alike.

Madame De Stael

America has believed that in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress. It acted on this belief; it has advanced human happiness, and it has prospered.

Louis D. Brandeis

Difference of opinion is helpful in religion.

Thomas Jefferson

The biggest mistake is believing there is one right way to listen, to talk, to have a conversation -- or a relationship.

Deborah Tannen

Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation.